373: A woman who committed adultery and is contemplating
suicide

A married woman commits adultery, then she repented but the guilt of the act is haunting her. She is now
thinking about suicide. What should be done and what is your advice?

Published Date: 1998-05-10

Praise be to Allaah.

Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The believer sees his
sin as a mountain beneath which he is sitting and which he fears may fall
down upon him. The rebellious person sees his sin as a fly which passes in
front of his nose and he swats it away " (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6308)

This woman's overwhelming sense of the burden of her sin is a sign of
faith. We offer her the following advice:

She should examine her divorce from her first husband to make sure
that it is sound according to sharee'ah (Islamic law), whether it took the
form of talaaq (male-instigated divorce) or khul' (female-instigated
divorce).
She should make sure that her marriage contract to the second man is
also sound, because a marriage between two people guilty of adultery is
not valid unless they have repented (see questions # 33); if the contract
is found not to be valid, it must be repeated.
If this woman is sincere in her repentance towards Allaah, regrets what
she did and is determined never to do it again, Allaah will forgive all
her sins, no matter how great they were, so she should not despair of
the mercy of Allaah, for no one despairs of Allaah's Mercy, except the
people who disbelieve, and who despairs of the mercy of his Lord
except those who are astray?
She should hasten to do many good deeds, to expiate for her sin, as
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "And perform al-salaat (the
prayer) at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night.
Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds " [Hud 11:114]
She should resume a pure Islamic life, based on purity and chastity.
Suicide is not a solution at all, as it is one of the most grievous of major
sins, and will only increase the punishment of the one who does it. The
Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever throws himself down from a high mountain and kills himself
will be throwing himself down from a mountain in the Fire of Hell for
all eternity. Whoever takes poison and kills himself will be taking
poison in the Fire of Hell for all eternity. Whoever kills himself with a
weapon (literally, iron) will be holding it in his hand and stabbing
himself in the stomach in the Fire of Hell for all eternity. (Reported by
al-Bukhaari, 5778)

We ask Allaah to help this woman to repent sincerely, to forgive her sins
and to include her in His Mercy, for He is the All-hearing Who answers
prayers.